Many people complain about advertisements as an obnoxious way for companies to invade our everyday lives and cram their products down our throats, but that’s not all that advertisements are good for. The advertisements on this list are excellent examples of effective advertising strategies for social issue campaigns that let their voices be heard.
A well-made advertisement is designed to grab your attention and to remain in your memory long after you’ve left it behind, and that is exactly what many of these social causes need. Getting people to think and worry about various social and environmental issues (or even simply getting them to be aware of them) is important for raising public support and affecting meaningful changes. A few of these ads are, in fact, commercial ads, but it’s still nice that they champion socially or environmentally aware causes/products.
Just like with commercial advertisements, having just the facts is not enough. They are important, but the ad must also appeal to the observer’s emotions. Many studies have indicated that emotion can have a powerful effect on memory formation, ensuring that memories with emotion will last longer than those without.
Torture Victims Are People Just Like You And Me
Stop The Violence: Don’t Drink And Drive
Advertising Agency: Terremoto Propaganda, Curitiba, Brazil
Premature Ending: “If you smoke, statistically your story will end 15% before it should.”
“THE END. If you smoke, statistically your story will end 15% before it should. For help with quitting call QUITTLINE on 0200 00 22 00″³ (Advertising Agency: Iris, London, UK)
World Wide Fund For Nature: Frightening vs. More Frightening
Your Skin Color Shouldn’t Dictate Your Future
Advertising Agency: Publicis Conseil, Paris, France
Deforestation Continues With The Turn Of A Page
Elm Grove Police Department: Slower Is Better
Advertising Agency: Cramer-Krasselt, Milwaukee, USA
Save Paper – Save The Planet
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Copenhagen, Denmark
Air Pollution Kills 60,000 People A Year
Advertising Agency: unknown
Liking Isn’t Helping. Be A Volunteer. Change A Life
Advertising Agency: Publicis, Singapore
Bird Conservation: If You Don’t Pick It Up They Will
Advertising Agency: TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa
What We See When You Smoke
Advertising Agency: JWT, Atlanta, USA
Animal Anti-Cruelty League: That’s Not A Ball
Advertising Agency: Lowe Bull, Cape Town, South Africa
Bangalore Traffic Police: Don’t Talk While Driving
Advertising Agency: Mudra Group, India
Child Soldiers: It’s Not Happening Here, But It’s Happening Now
Creative/Art director Pius Walker, Amnesty International, Switzerland.
Censorship Tells The Wrong Story
Advertising Agency: Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai, UAE
Distracted Driving: Think Of Both Sides
Advertising Agency: Red Pepper, Ekaterinburg, Russia
Every 60 Seconds a Species Dies Out. Each Minute Counts
Advertising Agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin, Germany
Sexual Predators Can Hide In Your Child’s Smartphone
Advertising Agency: Herezie, Paris, France
Smoking Causes Premature Aging
Advertising Agency: Euro RSCG Australia
You’re Not A Sketch. Say No To Anorexia.
Advertising Agency: Revolution Brasil
Neglected Children Are Made To Feel Invisible. Stop Child Abuse Now
“To dramatize the issue of neglect, we placed mannequins dressed as children behind billposters. When the inevitable happened, we revealed a second message.” (Australian Childhood Foundation, JWT Melbourne)
Global Action In The Interest of Animals: Plastic Bags Kill
Advertising Agency: BBDO Malaysia, MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur / Advertising Agency: Duval Guillaume, Belgium
What Goes Around Comes Around. Keep The Sea Clean
Advertising Agency: JWT, Dubai, UAE
Tailgating Isn’t Worth It. Give Trucks Room
Advertising Agency: Amélie Company Advertising, Denver, Colorado, USA
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: When You See A Tuna, Think Panda
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore
Sleepiness Is Stronger Than You. Don’t Drive Sleepy
Advertising Agency: BBDO Bangkok, Thailand
See How Easy Feeding The Hungry Can Be?
Advertising Agency: TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa
Deforestation And The Air We Breathe: Before It’s Too Late
Advertising Agency: TBWA PARIS, France
For The Homeless, Every Day Is A Struggle
Advertising Agency: Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, Australia
The Prevention Beer Mug: Please Don’t Lose Control Over Your Drinking
Advertising Agency: EURORSCG Prague, Czech Republic
One Child Is Holding Something That’s Been Banned In America To Protect Them. Guess Which One?
Advertising Agency: Grey, Toronto, Canada
Breast Cancer Awareness Bra
Advertising Agency: Bolero, Fortaleza, Brazil
What Goes Around Comes Around: Stop The Iraq War
Advertising Agency: Big Ant International, New York, USA
UN Women: Auto-Complete Shows Perceptions Of Women
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai, UAE
Don’t Buy Exotic Animal Souvenirs
Advertising Agency: LOWE GGK, Warsaw, Poland
Animal Abuse And Shelters: Same Pet, Different Owner
Advertising Agency: TBWA-Santiago Mangada Puno, Philippines
Buckle up. Stay alive.
Advertising Agency: Lg2, Quebec, Canada
According to “Father of Advertising” David Ogilvy, his contemporary, Howard Gossage, said that “advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest””it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.” We definitely agree, which is why we wanted to share this list of social cause advertisements with you…and invite you to please share with your friends.
